saer1one

Oil changes on the c32's are recommended every 10k miles.. i did my oil change in the beggining of the year, thats roughly 5 1/2 months ago, but i still have 7k miles before service.. what are your opinions and every what do you guys change your oil..?

rockjock

depends on my driving (track, DD, ect)-but I usually never go more then 5k in the summer-5-8k in the winter.
The other caviate to oil changes is 6 months-you're there-I'd change it-better safe-and its the cheapest thing we have on these cars....

saer1one

good point.. im definitely changing the oil, just a couple of weeks ago i took the oil cap off when i noticed this gunky white residue in the cap.. wut do you think that is..?

mkonei

moisture, usually a good hot run will burn it off. i run 5-8000, or just about 6 months on changes as well. mobil 1 0-40 with the MB fleece filter 000-180-2609. not sure if the C32 uses the same filter or not though.

320 dreamer

if you have the fss i think i takes into account the time as well as the mileage

rockjock

white gunky stuff in the oil?....ummm.....that could be coolant in there (it starts to look like a cross of baby poo and a milk shake)-cold ne a head gasket.
Taste it and see if its sweet or not.
I'm kidding-dont taste it-but check your exhaust and see if its white/smells "sweet"-theres another indicator of a HG leak/blow-

GotDaBenz

You don't need to go crazy. It's a car, not a delicate flower. The rule-of-thumb has always been once a year minimum (with low miles; I do about 5K a year).Otherwise with Mobil1 I would go no more than 10K or one year.

MRAMG1

As a rule of thumb, IMHO.

After every road race, change the oil
If car sets for more than six months, change the oil
At every service interval, change the oil

Note, drag racing does NOTHING to hurt oil, as well as autocrossing, as you NEVER generate enough heat in 12-45 seconds to warrent an oil change

See yeah

PS: I made a deal at my MB dealer, for $100. Wasn't worth me doing it for this price, IMHO

boohooramblers

+1 to the comments by others.

You ought not dismiss your findings of white residue (a.k.a. 'mayonnaise') under the oil cap as being merely condensate forming under the cap........

With the caveat being that condensate formation under the cap can be common in motors that are subjected to spirited driving for short distances:

1. Check the integrity of the oil cap.
Was it torqued properly?
Was the filter twisted up into the cap correctly?

2. Worst case scenario is that there is a head gasket problem.
This is what you should rule out. In the case of a head gasket failure, the white residue / 'mayo' is due to aqueous contamination of the non-aqueous oil. (i.e. when the head gasket ruptures, coolant can leak into the oil).

Perform an oil change from the bottom (i.e. not the vacuum method) and see if the oil also contains this contaminant - if there is a significant contamination, your oil will have a light brown hue. If your oil looks fine then hopefully the contamination is only at the top (oil cap) due to condensation.

3. There are other symptoms that may indicate a head gasket issue.
Ask yourself the following questions:

• What mileage is on your motor?
• What modifications are on your motor?
• Have you ever had problems with your motor overheating?
• Is the coolant in your reservoir discolored (i.e. oily)?
• Have you noticed white smoke emanating from the exhaust?
• Have you ever had to 'top up' your coolant?

If the above are present, I would get a compression test.

c32AMG-DTM

MRAMG1 - went to a track day recently, and thought it would be smart to make sure the oil was fresh before the event for max protection during the session... so I changed it the evening before. Would you advise still changing it after? BTW - that is a very cheap price from the dealer... since the cheapest it can be done DIY is ~$80.

rockjock

I perform before and afters when I'm at a road track for a day or weekend-
you could run the car after-but if something went awry on the track-you wouldnt know until you change (metal, ect)-

Zeppelin

Some may think I am crazy but I change mine about every 7-8K which can be as much as 2 years before oil changes. I track mine a few times a year as well. I just use Mobile 5w-40 from Walmart and a Fram filter. Worked well for the last 8+years.

When I do drive the car 2 weeks may have gone by and then I drive it for 100 miles at a time. So no short trips - thats what the CRX is for.

MRAMG1

As far as changing before, it would depend on the milage/time. If the oil is fresh, aka 3000 miles I personally wouldn't worry. Keep in mind that the greatest threat to you oil is acid, in the form of SOX compounds generated by combustion, so it is over time that they build up and make the oil acidic. Heat is also an issue that can break the oil down, however it is VERY unlikely that with street driving, even VERY spiritedly, that you can hurt a synthetic oil. With this in mind, if it was at 8-9K SURE. But after is almost a must IMHO. If you drive it hard, you could reach oil temps in excess of 300 degrees EASILY on the track. So for $100, why wouldn't you want the simple issurance.

See yeah

PS: Yeah my MB dealer takes GOOD care of me. Not very mod freindly, but they REALLY work with me on price so they get almost ALL of my work.

saer1one

so for their are no symptoms of antifreeze contamination to the oil(THANK GOD..), oil cap looks fine.. as far as engine mods, last time i checked engine was stock.. i have 41k miles on it, nothing else on the list so hopefully its just condensate.. GREAT INFO BY THE WAY..

saer1one

definitely not sweet.. somewhat of a crossover between taco truck and the wendy's baconator..

rockjock

mmmmm bacon......